Community banking
A crackdown on payday lending looks increasingly likely and risks sending low-income consumers in search unregulated financing options on the Internet and abroad. That threat is a key topic of discussion at American Bankers Underbanked Financial Services Forum, which wraps up Friday in Miami. National Editor Maria Aspan reports from the event.
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The industry is up in arms over a proposal that would require banks to disclose in call reports specific sources of fee revenue. In question is whether the mandate would improve oversight of safety and soundness or instead is aimed at furthering the policy agenda of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and consumer advocates.
June 6 -
It's been a buoyant year for stocks but not for bank deals. Regulatory uncertainty and a failure of buyers and sellers to come to terms on price continue to stymie activity. American Banker staffers discuss whether the market is getting closer to taking off and why some big investors have been selling.
June 3
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Tech startups are gunning to compete with banks by providing financial services to low-income and other underserved customers. Many of the offerings provide me-too services with limited appeal, however, rather than attractive innovations.
June 3 -
Congress is pushing ahead with legislation aimed at requiring financial institutions to share information about cyber threats. Banks are pushing back, however, over fears that they'll get caught between new disclosure requirements and demands that they protect customers' privacy.
May 29 -
The death of branches appears to be greatly exaggerated, but they are changing. American Banker editors discuss how two banks that are leading the way, Wells Fargo and Umpqua, are downsizing and rejiggering their bricks and mortar presence.
May 23 -
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to hold a long-awaited vote later this week on the confirmation of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. With the opposition GOP planning to block the nomination, the move is a rehash of past battles and a sign that politics is once again trumping pragmatism in bank policymaking, argues Washington Bureau Chief Rob Blackwell. Ironically, the Republican's opposition will keep the CFPB focused largely on banks, rather than on their nonbank rivals, and could end up doing their banker friends more harm than good.
May 21 -
The best-connected bankers in town combine heartfelt community involvement with hard-headed pragmatism about the importance of personal relationships when doing business. American Banker Magazine Editor Heather Landy discusses what others can learn from their examples.
May 20 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Congress are pushing for fixes to the student loan market, but some of their proposals are focused on the relatively small portion of loans made by banks and other private lenders.
May 10 -
The Dodd-Frank Act's ban on pure commercial ownership of industrial loan companies is set to expire in July. American Banker editors discuss the pros and cons of allowing a commercial enterprise like Wal-Mart into the banking business at a time when the previous argument against doing so has been turned on its head.
May 8
